I'm in Europe, and I'm about to stock up at IKEA. I had very high-quality bed linens in my rental, but read on a forum that linens and towels are among the items which are most-easily stolen, so I'm no longer putting the designer sheets on my beds. It would break my heart to lose them! IKEA quality is good...100% cotton, and the prints are cheerful and, most of all, if they go missing, it won't break my budget.

I have purchased towels, hand towels from JC Penney that are advertised for their quick drying time. They are light weight and I have been pleased with them. Sometimes they run a special 2 for the price of 1. I do not purchase the wash cloths because I purchase cheaper ones from Wal-Mart, etc. since I deal only in white, if they do get stained, which they probably will, I just throw them away and purchase the cheaper ones. Not a great loss.

Thanks for idea of just buying inexpensive washcloths and pitching them when too soiled. That works for me. Walmart.... yes. We've got one here, too. I also like the idea of towels that dry quickly. I send out linens but wash towels here. That would speed things up when we have our occasional 5 hour change overs.

I can’t say which kind to buy as everyone has a different type of guest they are trying to market to. Also your area and type of lodging makes a difference. I often see beautiful bedroom ensembles in ads for VR and hotels which I dearly love. I couldn’t imagine using them in one of my condos as I want everything very washable and would never consider having dry clean only articles. I know VR owners, managers, resorts, and hotels use them. I can't help but assume some dry clean them rarely since it is expensive. “Yuck.” Color choices make a big difference too. I’m a “everything white” except for the wash clothes I have labeled as “use for items that stain”. They are light colors, have bleached spots, faded spots, pink spots, and orange spots but they are clean and designated for stains, mud, etc. The white ones are “white” and don’t get stained as much. My linens are good quality except the washclothes are inexpensive because I replace them often, even the white ones. They still get stained, just not as bad as the colored ones. The white washcloth stains are actually muddy stains normally; not the medicine and make up stains we have on the colored ones. So guests can still tell they are clean. Often bleach can fix the muddy stains too. Also having different washclothes for stains helps to draw attention for guests to treat your towels like they do at home and not stain them up as much.

I purchase most of my linens at Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, and JC Penney’s. I try to watch for sales and use both in store and online purchases. Watch for specials for free shipping if you order on line. Linens are heavy and the shipping costs and kill you. If you buy from Kohl’s, get their store credit card. Credit card holders get additional % off sales every month.

Oh my, THANK YOU for taking the time to share all this information. I like your idea of having colored washcloths for medicine/makeup use, etc. Kohl's, JC Pennys and Bed, Bath and Beyond ... I'll watch for sales. Thank you for these helpful tips.

This might work to keep from removing make-up with my white wash cloths. I picked up a package of make-up remover tissues that come 40/pkg. re-sealable package, $1.00 at the local dollar store...I placed the pkg. on the vanity. Only need to remove make-up at night, this pkg. should last at least a month if not more. I'll let you know how it works out..

I am changing to using a linen service which will make my life much easier. You might check in your area what they costs are, them seem reasonable to me and I no longer have to deal with ensuring the laundry is done properly and dealing with damaged linens.

Home Goods often has sets of nice quality towels for a very reasonable price. Set's generally include: 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 washcloths.

As for darker towels for make-up removal, I stayed at a hotel in Portland, OR which had black washcloths embroidered with the word "makeup". Very clever, but they are pricey - $49 for 6. Here's the link: http://turkishtowelcompany.com/black-makeup-washcloths So far, I've just gone with buying less expensive washcloths and throwing them away as they become soiled.

We have done very well using sheets and towels from Sam's Club. The sheets are very soft and we use a different color for each size bed to make it easy for our housekeeper. We also have tan washcloths for removing makeup with all other bath towels being white. We roll the tan washcloths and stack them on the counter with a small framed sign asking that they be used for make up removal.

BJ's for towels, white, cotton $5 each. Just bought king sheets, white from TJ Maxx for $32. I buy when the price is right and then put them into use when needed. The makeup is an issue, I may try the makeup remover sheets or tan towels.

Just made a great discovery - cleaning up after a week of young ladies, I ran out of stain remover and used an inexpensive makeup remover gel on the towels. In France, the brand is "Mixa" - though I'll bet any "store brand" would do. It worked like a charm - all the makeup disappeared. It was a lot less expensive than the stain remover and easier on the towels, too. It's the little things in life...

I use makeup remover to get certain types of makeup stains off hard surfaces, too, like waterproof foundation or waterproof mascara stains on counters, a white vanity furniture I have and even on makeup marks on walls. My local is "coastal" so women wear waterproof a lot here. The makeup remover is gentle and it works.

I like to keep as many things upscale feeling in my cabin so I have bought everything linen from Ross which is very much the same as Marshall's. I can get upscale linens for the same price as Wal-Mart.

I used to go with the Big One from Kohls for years and bought them at the Black Friday sale for less than $3.00 a piece. Last year I had a rude awakening when I got the same towels at the BF sale but when they were delivered, Kohls had made a serious change in the quality of those towels. Every one of them went back to Kohls.

Now I am a Costco towel convert. $24.99 for 6 white Martex towels. They are moderately thick, good sized and launder nicely with no pulls (like some of the Mainstays Walmart towels). Hand towels are a bargain at $14.99 for a dozen. And washcloths are a 24 pack but I can't remember the price but I think it was $12 ish.

I have a similar experience with Kohls, over time. Not always pleased. But, I've been buying as good offers present themselves... so I have "stock". I have a few different brands. A couple of the sets are from Macy's {Charter Club brand}...I like those. I was let down by Kohls, though. I purchased a very pretty set of towels last year at Kohls...white...embossed....great looking set. They were on sale but still more than I wanted to pay for the rental units...but I went ahead. The customer reviews were good. I washed them before putting them out for guests because they seemed to be "treated" with something...I could feel it. They were so nice after washing...and looked good in the bathrooms. I expected a compliment. I put them in one unit for returning guests who come every January. Both she and her husband "complained" that the towels were not "absorbent enough". And, she was right...after I tried one. That's the last time I shopped for towels at Kohls.

I do really like Macy's Charter Club --- I've had them for quite some time...hold up wonderfully. {Macy's online sales are good.}

But, this year I, too, became a Costco towel convert {the Charisma brand}...and I've been very happy with them...the guests too. As long as Costco continues to sell those, that's my brand, now. Their towels are a nice bath size, they wash well, keep their shape, no pulls, stay soft, don't fade and are absorbent....great price! They look great and feel great. I buy a lot of those white washcloth packs, too.